The Innocent

by Michelle K. Pickett

  “It isn’t over, Mom. Jord is still alive. Until he’s gone, this isn’t over. And as long as Azazel is around, this will keep happening.” Grabbing a cracker, I shoved it in my mouth. I was angry. I wasn’t sure who I was angry at or why, I just knew I was.

  This needs to end. I have to keep Benjamin safe. But Jord and Azazel… two very strong demons. I’m scared. What if I fail? What happens then?

  Chay reach over and gently grabbed my hand, threading his fingers through mine. He gave my hand a light squeeze and smiled at me.

  It’s going to be all right. I have people behind me. They’ve got my back. And I know I can trust Chay with my life. Muriel, too.

  I smiled back at him, leaning in for a quick kiss.

  “So who do you think it’ll be? Our first encounter, who do you think it will be?” My dad brushed cracker crumbs on the floor, earning a glare from my mom.

  I turned Chay’s hand over and ran my fingers over his palm. “Jord,” I said. “Azazel will hide behind him, hoping he’ll get the job done for him. Azazel is a blowhard. He likes to hear himself talk, but when it comes to actions, he wavers.” I shrugged “He isn’t as badass as he wants everyone to believe. Besides, if I don’t switch sides, Azazel can’t touch me. He needs Jord to do his dirty work for him.”

  “Jord. The Earth demon. We need to be ready for anything, then,” my dad said.

  “Pretty much.”

  “Well, there goes my house. Something is going to fall on my house. You mark my words. A tree, a rock, an earthquake… something will happen. I swear our insurance is going to drop us if we file another claim…” My mother was still mumbling about the house as she walked upstairs.

  ***

  “It’s been a week, Chay.” We were sitting on the couch, watching Jord, who was watching the house. Chay had his head laid back on the couch, dozing. I lay in the crook of his arm, my head on his chest. I couldn’t sleep, not while Jord was there, watching. It creeped me out too much.

  What are you thinking out there? What do you see?

  “I know.” His voice was soft from sleep.

  “What’s he doing?”

  “I don’t know, Milayna.”

  He always stood in the same spot, just to the left of the streetlight, out of the circle of light. And he always showed up at the same time, seven minutes after one in the morning, not a minute earlier, not a minute later. He left at four fifteen exactly. I wondered if there was any significance to the times.

  Unfolding myself from Chay’s arms, I left him asleep on the couch. I stood at the window, my arms folded in front of me and my hands rubbing them. I was cold, not because the room was cold. It was warm. Fear chilled me—straight to my bones.

  C’mon. Just do it already. Whatever you’re planning, just do it so this can end. I’m tired, scared, and I just want my life back.

  Eighteen minutes after two, he walked away. I woke Chay. “He’s leaving.”

  “Good.”

  “No, I don’t think that’s good. He always stays until four fifteen—always. What made him change his plans today?”

  “Maybe he just needs a good night’s sleep like the rest of us,” Chay said around a yawn.

  “Or maybe he has a plan worked out.”

  Chay stretched his arms over his head. “There is that,” he said around another yawn.

  And that’s what scares the hell outta me.

  ***

  Another long week passed. Everyone walked on eggshells. We second-guessed every decision we made. Should we go to the grocery store… should Mom go to work… should Ben go to school… should we do this… could we do that… what would happen if we… If Jord was trying to play with our minds, it was working. We were stressed to the limit.

  My parents took their vacation time, Ben stayed home from school, and I was home. We were together, locked in the house alone all day. It didn’t matter how much a person loved their family—and I loved mine—you needed privacy sometimes. We were snapping at each other, arguing over the stupidest things, and officially getting on each other’s nerves. Of course, it didn’t help we were on top of a demon’s hit list. That would stress out anyone.

  It happened on a Thursday night. We were having one of our ‘you’re-getting-on-my-nerves’ moments.

  “Milayna, you suck!” Ben threw his video game controller at me. I flicked my hand and it sailed the other way.

  Yeah, this telekinesis really comes in handy when a game controller is aimed at my head. Too bad I can’t get it together enough to use it in a real fight.

  “Yeah, well, only a baby would throw his controller at someone.”

  “I don’t want to play with you anymore.” His bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

  Ugh, I’d like to grab that lip and pull it over your head, you little brat.

  I picked up the controllers and dumped them in the basket that held the games. “Good, I wasn’t playing with you anymore anyway.”

  “I’m gonna play with Chay. Right, Chay?”

  Ha! You only think you are.

  “Oh, no.” I laughed. “Chay’s here to see me, frog freckle.”

  “Don’t call me that, and he can play with me if he wants to.”

  “Not if I start kissing him first, he won’t.”

  He put both hands on his hips and leaned toward me. “That’s not fair!”

  There was a low vibration deep in the ground. It moved through the floor and into my feet, causing my legs to tremble.

  “Oh, no,” I whispered.

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Chay said, walking to where Ben and I were. He reached down, motioning with his fingers. “Get up.”

  Forgetting that he’d just told me I sucked, Ben clung to my leg. I wrapped my arm around him, holding him to me.

  The vibration grew louder, stronger. It was like someone had a garden tractor in the house. It was that loud and the house shook with the noise.

  “What is it, Milayna?” Ben shouted.

  “I don’t know.”

  The vibrating steadily grew stronger. Picture frames fell from walls. Glass shattered across the floor. Cupboard doors opened and dishes fell out, crashing onto the floor.

  Ben started to cry. Chay picked him up and Ben wrapped his legs around his waist, burying his face in the side of Chay’s neck.

  The house started to shake. The stairway moved one way and the house shifted another, ripping the stairs from the floor and exposing the basement below. My parents ran down the stairs. They hesitated on the bottom step.

  “You have to jump,” my dad yelled to my mom. “Hurry before it moves more.”

  “Here, take Ben.” Chay peeled Ben away from him and passed him to me. “Jump to me, Mrs. Jackson!”

  My mom hesitated. The house shifted, groaning and creaking as the boards bent and swayed.

  “Rachael, jump!” my dad yelled.

  She backed up a step and made a running leap from one step to the next and then across the growing space between the floor and stairway. Her back foot landed half on the floor and half off. She teetered for a minute. Chay grabbed her and pulled her forward. She fell on her knees with a grunt.

  “I’m so sorry,” Chay said, bending down to help her up.

  “You’re sorry? For what? Saving me from falling into the basement?”

  He shook his head and gestured to her. “No, um, making you fall on the floor.”

  Geez, Chay, the house is falling down around us and you’re brown-nosing my mother.

  “Don’t be sorry—just help John.” My mom pointed at my dad getting ready to make the jump across the gap in the floor.

  Chay grabbed my dad’s arm when he jumped across the gap, pulling him safely across just before the house shifted and the gap widened. The staircase weakened and fell into the gap, smashing onto the cement basement floor below.

  The house continued to shift and vibrate. The cement in the basement split, exposing a crack in the earth beneath. The floor fissured and fell into the basement, pieces of ceili
ng falling around us.

  “What is going on?” My mom held one arm over her head to protect it from falling debris and held on to a wall to steady herself against the shifting house with the other.

  “Jord!” I shouted, using my power to bat falling debris away from us, but things were falling down around us too fast and I couldn’t keep up.

  My dad took Ben out of my arms. He used one arm to hold Ben and the other to steady himself as he stepped around the wreckage. The floor was shifting and cracking under our feet. The noise was deafening. We had to shout to be heard over it—the sound of the cement breaking open below us, the wood groaning and snapping, and the roof crashing down around us.

  I screamed when a large piece of ceiling fell between my parents, me, and Chay. The piece—the size of our kitchen table—barely missed hitting me in the head. It fell, broke through the floor, fell straight to the basement, and into the large fissure forming under our house.

  Chay pulled me to him, covering my head with his arm. “Are you okay?” I nodded. I made the mistake of glancing at my arm where the ceiling had grazed against my skin. It was just a gash running the length of my upper arm, nothing too spectacular. “No, you’re not.” Chay’s face was hard.

  “I’m fine. We need to get out of here.” I looked across the large hole in the floor between my parents and me. “Go, get out! We’ll go this way and meet you.”

  More of the floor gave way. I backed up. I could feel the floor losing its support. It felt spongy under my feet, springy like a diving board.

  Chay grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the back door. The supports in the walls started to give way. I could hear them snapping like twigs. The entire ceiling began to collapse. Windows shattered, spraying glass over the room. Doors splintered under the weight of the ceiling pressing down on them. There was too much. I couldn’t concentrate enough to tap into my telekinesis power; I had to focus on getting out of the house.

  “Go, go, go!” Chay yelled, pushing me through the patio door. The jagged glass around the frame cut into my hand when I grabbed it to steady myself. It snagged my clothing, ripping it as I ran through the opening.

  As soon as I was through, the ceiling collapsed. Turning, I screamed, dropping to my hands and knees. The glass and splinters of wood bit into my palms and through my jeans. I bent my head down, laying my check against the driveway. I couldn’t see anything… anyone.

  “Chay!” I held my breath, straining to hear over the thunderous noise of the collapsing house. “Chay!”

  I started pulling pieces of house away from where the door used to be. Board by board, I yanked them away, tears streaming down my face.

  No, no, no. You were right behind me. You had to get out.

  “Milayna. Milayna!” My dad picked me up and carried me away from the house. I kicked, screamed, and punched, but he still carried me away.

  No! We’re going the wrong way. We need to go back!

  “Turn around. He was right behind me!”

  “He’s gone, Milayna. The roof came down before he got out.”

  Gone. Chay. Chay is gone.

  I looked at the house. What little was left was crushed like an empty pop can. And as I watched our home buckle, I had one thought…

  Kill Jord. Make him pay.

  Before, it was just about survival. I just wanted to survive the attacks of the Four Brothers. Keep Ben and my family safe. It had just become personal.

  Now, it was revenge.

  I reached down and made sure my dagger was in its sheath at my ankle.

  I looked at my parents, pushing Ben toward them. “You should run now.” My voice held no emotion. It was dead. Dead. Like Chay. Like Jord would be.

  The first tree fell. I raised my hand and focused on it. I felt the vibration in my fingers. The tree hung in midair before I flicked my hand, tossing it safely away.

  Too close. My powers are weakening. I’ve had too many visions, too much fighting. They’ve weakened me. I have to get Ben away from here.

  “The house is down. He’s gonna find something else to use. You have to get Ben out of here. Go!”

  “You’re coming, too,” my mom yelled.

  “No. I have to finish this.” A second tree sailed through the air, landing on the other side of the first. “The next one will probably land right where you’re standing. My powers are weakening. I can’t keep up with the falling debris. You have to go now!”

  I felt weird. I wasn’t scared. It wasn’t that I was particularly brave. I wasn’t. I wasn’t excited like someone who enjoyed hurting people would be. It was like I was in a trance, like I was programmed to do one thing—kill Jord. There were no emotions involved except the need to see him dead. Done. Over. A plume of black ash.

  “I’ll find you when it’s over. Go before he starts throwing things again.” I kissed my mom on the cheek, hugged my dad, and did the booty shake with a very scared Ben. “Hey, would I be doing the booty shake with you if we had anything to worry about?”

  “N-no.” Ben sniffed and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

  Eww, even now he grosses me out.

  “Go with Mom and Dad. I’ll be right behind you.”

  A third tree sailed through the air. It landed on the car.

  Well, they won’t be using that to get away. Great.

  “Run as fast as you can straight back. Don’t turn; go straight. If you come to a yard, go through it. His power has a limited range. Keep going straight back and you’ll eventually make it out of his range. Go now.”

  I turned and broke into a run, going the opposite way. A boulder flew toward me. With a flick of my hand, I pushed it to the side. I heard the deep thud and felt the vibration when it landed. The pavement shuddered and rippled under me. The fissure from our basement extended down our street. The earth opened like a zipper, little fingers branching out every so often. The air smelled of damp dirt and sulfur.

  I ran until I reached Xavier’s house, flattening myself against the side of the garage. I took two big lungsful of air and moved slowly through Xavier’s backyard. I crouched low to the ground when I left the tree-lined yard and entered the undeveloped land behind it.

  I laid flat on the side of a hill. A boulder flew over my head like it was a volleyball.

  He’s definitely here somewhere.

  I peeked over the hill and sucked in a breath. Jord stood about five feet directly in front of me.

  Shit on a stick. I didn’t want to get this close so soon.

  I backed down the side. When I got to the bottom, I crawled parallel to it until it ended. I was about fifteen feet from Jord. He was on my left. Nothing but flat, open land was on my right. The next mound of dirt to use as cover was another fifteen to twenty feet in front of me. I could try to make it without him seeing me or I could try to sneak up on him and hope to get close enough to kill him before he saw me. Yeah. Both plans sucked.

  Think! What should I do? Go for it. Yeah. Probably the stupidest decision I’ve ever made, but there it is.

  I took a breath and turned to my left. Walking a diagonal line, I tried to get behind him enough that he wouldn’t see me in his peripheral vision. I made it to the mound of dirt behind him. Leaning against it, I scooted across. I was about three feet from him when I realized I had a problem.

  “Hello, Milayna.”

  I stood. “Jord.” Surprisingly, my voice sounded somewhat normal. It wasn’t my supersonic crying voice or my crackling nervous voice.

  My dagger in hand, I waited for him to face me. It didn’t take long. When he did, he brought a sandstorm of dirt and rock with him. I raised one arm to shield my eyes, bracing myself with a foot on the mound of dirt behind me.

  The second problem came when boulders started to rain down around me. I couldn’t see them through the dirt and rock swirling around me, so I couldn’t fight them off with my telekinesis powers. So I just started moving.

  A moving target is harder to hit, right? I’ll keep moving and maybe I’ll get lucky and bu
mp into him… with my dagger.

  I moved from side to side and front to back. I didn’t stay still for more than a second. A few of the boulders came so close to hitting me I felt the breeze when they flew by. I kept moving. A large rock—about the size of a bowling ball—hit my calf. I bit my lip to keep from crying out and giving away my location.

  The dirt and stones swirling around, little stones sliced the skin on my arms and face. I had to cup my hand over my mouth and nose to breathe. The dirt seemed to suck the air away from me. When I tried to inhale, I got a nose full of sand. My lungs were burning from lack of oxygen, my skin was stinging from the dirt and rocks that pelted me, and my leg throbbed from the large rock hitting it. I was ready to give up. But I couldn’t—I wouldn’t—let him break me.

  And then my luck turned. I ran smack into him.

  He knows about the dagger. Don’t show it too soon.

  I planted my feet shoulder-width apart, trying to keep my balance. I raised my left hand above his chest. He grabbed it with both his.

  That’s right. Grab my hand.

  My right hand jabbed upward, stabbing him once in the gut so he’d let go of me and a second time in the chest. He didn’t die. He screamed profanities at me, raising a hand to pelt me with more rocks and sand.

  Damn it, I forgot—wrong side.

  One more stab. He looked down and then looked at me before turning into a plume of black ash. The last thing he saw before he died was the sweet smile of revenge on my lips.

  That was for Chay, you bastard.

  I let my arm drop and sheathed my dagger.

  Then I let the first tear fall.

  I started home with tears streaming down my cheeks, brown from the dirt on my face. I walked along the fissure in the earth. The pavement was buckled and crumbling next to it. If I stepped too close, it gave way and my foot would slide down the side. Surprisingly, I didn’t care. I was too numb inside. I liked the numbness. It masked what I knew was lying underneath, waiting patiently to break through. Pain.

  Chay.

  I turned when I reached what was left of my house. It looked like someone shaved off the roof and laid it on the ground. That was all there was. No walls. Nothing but a roof and even it had holes in it.